The European Monetary Union in an age of populism: To what extent have populist parties utilized structural features of the European Monetary Union in their attempt to raise public support?

European integration efforts have led to the creation of a variety of political and economic institutions. Yet the main stimuli for these efforts have always been of an economic nature (K. R. McNamara 2006, 802). The success of early integration efforts in the form of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) and the European Economic Community (EEC), has led to the establishment of further, more embedded institutions, such as the European Union (EU) and the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). In particular, the creation of the EMU has been characterized, as “the most striking example of economic integration in history” (K. R. McNamara 2006, 803). Whilst some praise the ideological consensus reached and celebrate the economic and political successes; others highlight the incompleteness of the project (Jones, Kelemen, and Meunier 2016, 1010). The recent financial and European sovereign debt crisis exposed the underlying weaknesses of the EMU (Nicoli 2017, 392). Most notably, the...Show moreEuropean integration efforts have led to the creation of a variety of political and economic institutions. Yet the main stimuli for these efforts have always been of an economic nature (K. R. McNamara 2006, 802). The success of early integration efforts in the form of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) and the European Economic Community (EEC), has led to the establishment of further, more embedded institutions, such as the European Union (EU) and the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). In particular, the creation of the EMU has been characterized, as “the most striking example of economic integration in history” (K. R. McNamara 2006, 803). Whilst some praise the ideological consensus reached and celebrate the economic and political successes; others highlight the incompleteness of the project (Jones, Kelemen, and Meunier 2016, 1010). The recent financial and European sovereign debt crisis exposed the underlying weaknesses of the EMU (Nicoli 2017, 392). Most notably, the European Central Bank (ECB) as the epicenter of the EMU, had its weak output and weak input legitimacy exposed (Alcidi, Giovannini, and Piedrafita 2014, 9). The continued reliance on the economic results, known as output legitimacy, used to rectify the lack of democratic representation, known as the input legitimacy, was unfeasible in the long-term (Alcidi, Giovannini, and Piedrafita 2014, 9). Academics such as Kathleen McNamara and Erik Jones outline, that this is due to the inherent shortcomings of the EMU’s structural features. This critique is not limited to the scholarly domain but it should be pointed out that “most citizens realized that integration entails serious normative costs” (Majone 2014, 1216). Citizens thereby experienced the adverse effects of economic growth and successes of past years which had previously been induced by the EMU. Although the crisis has recently been out of public attention, Mario Draghi, president of the ECB points out that, “the crisis has shown that the monetary union is incomplete and that the weaknesses need to be remedied” (Mario Draghi 2014). Yet, this has not occurred and the incompleteness of the monetary union, specifically its weaknesses, highlights the danger that the EMU is still currently facing; a danger, which does not only call into question decades of European integration but could send the entire integrated monetary union into financial turmoil and with it, the world economy. Whilst economic academia has focused on the consequences and causes of the crisis, political scientists have shifted their focus to the recent rise of populist parties throughout Europe. These have heavily critiqued the policies and alleged shortcomings of the ECB and with them the EMU. Nevertheless, whilst recognizing the rise of populist parties throughout Europe and the economic crisis, current academic debate in both the political and economic domain remains largely disconnected. Hence this thesis shall depart from current academia by exploring the connection between the structural weaknesses and the attempt by populist parties to generate public support by answering the question: To what extent have populist parties utilized structural features of the EMU in their attempt to raise public support? To answer this question, this thesis shall first provide an overview of the academic debate regarding the shortcomings that weaken the EMU and the structural features that aid their mandate through conducting a literature review. Furthermore, an overview of approaches to identify the positioning of political parties will be provided. This thesis shall utilize a version of the wordscore approach, a computerized quantitative methodology proposed by Laver et al. in 2003 (Laver, Benoit, and Garry 2003). This approach treats words as data, in order to identify the emphasis on a specific topic or position through assessing the use-frequency of a key term or phrase. This standardized methodology allows for the assessment of a variety of text types across time, which will provide the necessary data to answer the previously defined research question. To support the findings, qualitative discourse analysis will be used. This will be applied to analyze the Alternative für Deutschland (Alternative for Germany, AfD), in Germany and the Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs (Freedom Party Austria, FPÖ), in Austria which shall serve as case-studies for this thesis.Show less

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The European Monetary Union in an age of populism: To what extent have populist parties utilized structural features of the European Monetary Union in their attempt to raise public support?